When I started The Covid 19 Portrait Project in June 2020, approximately 1270 people had perished in Philadelphia county from the coronavirus. I never knew these people, but spending time with them, in silence, at my easel, with the light traces captured by the camera, I often feel I am not so much looking at them, but into them, thinking about who they were, what their lives were like; how America failed them. They look back at me and asked: “Why?” Their faces, their spirits, are burned into my memory.
Source photographs are gathered from public sources on the web or sent to the artist by family members. A major exhibition is planned for 2021/22 with portraits of Americans from all 50 states.
Please donate. It’s 100% tax deductible too. While this is a non-monetary project, you can help offset operating and exhibition development expenses through Fractured Atlas via the Tsirkus Fotografika Project which now incorporates drawing as well as photography. Click here!
Project page on Facebook with drawings by all artists: Click here!
